


Yet Another Holiday or Beca Misses Her Family

by 22_Ti



Series: Major Follies [8]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, Female Jewish Character, Jewish Character, Jewish Holidays, Jewish!Beca, LGBTQ Jewish Character(s), Proposals, Sukkot | Tabernacles, bechloe - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:20:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26933491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/22_Ti/pseuds/22_Ti
Summary: Beca is feeling melancholy and decides to celebrate the next holiday, Sukkot, by erecting her grandmother’s sukkah on her balcony. She spends the week revisiting her youthful dreams and considering where her adult life is headed. What happens when she recalls why this holiday used to be her favorite?
Relationships: Chloe Beale & Beca Mitchell, Chloe Beale/Beca Mitchell
Series: Major Follies [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1621072
Comments: 14
Kudos: 25





	Yet Another Holiday or Beca Misses Her Family

**Author's Note:**

> I realize this story is a week late in coming, but sometimes life gets in the way.

Chloe packed up her things at the clinic and shut down the office. Friday couldn’t have come too soon for her, and she had the weekend off. Dr. Sampson, the vet she hired early on when she opened Beale Small Animal Clinic, was on call for the weekend, which gave Chloe two glorious days of freedom to rest.

When COVID started, Chloe’s work hours and responsibilities became erratic. Government mandates meant Chloe had to scale back clinic hours and temporarily close Stacie’s grooming shop. She furloughed some of her office staff, which meant she was managing almost everything at the clinic - vet tech schedules and a great deal of paperwork - all in addition to seeing clients. All of this left Chloe exhausted at the end of the day.

Beca’s apartment was right across the street from her clinic, so Beca insisted Chloe move in with her. “There’s no reason for you trekking across town. You already eat here when you can and come over to pass out when you’ve had a long day. Just move in already.” While Beca’s apartment wasn’t massive, she had a spare bedroom that she’d outfitted as a mini-studio allowing her to work from home. That extra room had a good-sized closet and a space for Chloe’s other belongings.

So Chloe relented and paid some of her furloughed office staff to move her things from her underutilized apartment to Beca’s. That was in August, and an end to the COVID fiasco was nowhere in sight. As the governor relaxed some of the quarantine rules, she and Dr. Sampson expanded their hours and allowed owners to drop off their pets for routine appointments again. Stacie opened her grooming shop for limited appointments. She started first with established customers who were vulnerable to the pandemic illness but had dogs that were sorely in need of grooming.

“Beca! I’m home.” Chloe hung her jacket up on a peg by the door. “Babe?” Chloe didn’t hear her girlfriend respond, so went over to say hi to the Major and Bea, her and Beca’s guinea pigs, before going in search of Beca. The bedroom and makeshift studio were both empty. Beca’s keys were on the table beside the door, so Chloe knew that Beca had to be somewhere. 

When she glanced towards the balcony, Chloe realized the sliding glass door was open. At a glance, her girlfriend seemed to be building something. Curiously, Chloe wandered over and leaned against the door frame to watch. Beca was on a short step ladder, trying to fasten what looked like a canvas to a metal frame. 

“Need an extra set of hands?” Beca was startled at the sound of Chloe’s voice and briefly wobbled on the unstable ladder. The redhead rushed over to help make sure Beca didn’t fall.

“Ummm, sure. I’m having bad IKEA flashbacks. Now I know why Bubbe always had men from the synagogue put this together for her every year. Hand me a couple of zip ties?”

Chloe nodded her head knowingly. “This is another Jewish holiday, I take.”

Beca stood on her tiptoes and fastened the thick cloth to the corner of the structure. “Yep. This,” she motioned to the structure, “is a sukkah, loosely translated to _booth_.”

“Sucka?” Chloe giggled.

“No, dear. Soo-cuh. Nerd. For Sukkot, which is the plural of sukkah, of course. Your Jewish lesson comes later. For now, let’s work. We are almost done.” She and Chloe worked together and finally finished the walls of the hut. When Beca’s stomach started growling, she grinned sheepishly. “I sort of skipped lunch. How about you order some Thai while I finish up out here. I need to place the sechach on myself.”

“Sechach? Ummm, is that like the roof?” Beca nodded. “So, that’s sacred?”

“Yep. Now shoo. Food, please!” Chloe went back inside to call in their order but kept an eye on the balcony to make sure her girlfriend didn’t topple over the edge. Beca lay bamboo poles across the top of the sukkah. After she placed a bamboo mat across the sticks, she scowled and took the mat off and lay it on the floor. Finally satisfied, she packed up her tools and headed inside.

Beca stored her toolbox in the front closet and sat on the couch, pulling her Bubbe’s box over in front of her. She gingerly pulled out a thick folded carpet. The rug had a woven circle in the center. Within the circle was a Star of David and traditional mandala symbols. She stepped outside to the sukkah and spread the carpet over the bamboo mat. Finally, she pulled out a linen cloth and covered the door opening.

* * *

“Food’s here,” Chloe called out. She started pulling containers out of the bags.

“Out here, Chlo.” Beca came into the apartment and grabbed the begs before leading Chloe back out to the sukkah. “Do you mind eating in here? I can give your lesson.” She grinned as she held open the cloth “door” for her girlfriend.

The couple sat cross-legged on the floor on the balcony, and Chloe divvied out the food. 

“Sukkot is a commemoration of the years that the Jews spent in the desert on their way to the Promised Land after Egyptian exodus. The Feast of Tabernacles celebrates how God protected us under harsh desert conditions. Erecting a sukkah is the first step because the temporary hut-like structures are how the Jews lived as they traveled through the wilderness.”

“Even though sukkah loosely translates to _booths_ , the Festival of Booths doesn’t sound as interesting. Regardless of the name, traditionally, we take meals here for the week, and some even sleep in the sukkah for the duration of the Feast.”

“Are we sleeping out here, too?” Chloe quickly wiped the look of surprise off her face. “Which is okay if you want, of course. I support you.”

“Maybe? I don’t know what I want.” Beca pushed the take-out containers aside and propped herself back on her hands, feet kicked out. She had a faraway look in her eyes.

After a few silent moments, Chloe asked, “Bec? You okay?”

“Mmm, yeah.”

“That doesn’t sound too reassuring.”

“Hey, you know we can decorate this thing this weekend if you’d like. Take a look online tonight for some ideas. I know how much you love decorating. I’ll leave it all to you.”

Chloe clapped her hands. “I love decorating. But you already know that. What kind of decorations did you put up last year?” Beca shrugged. “You don’t know, or you don’t want to talk about it.”

“I didn’t put it up one last year.” She motioned to the structure around. “This is Bubbe’s sukkah. I didn’t have it in my heart to unpack it last year.”

Chloe wrapped her arms around Beca’s, leaning her head against her shoulder. Chloe knew how close Beca had been to her maternal grandmother. She’d been raised by her mom and grandma. Her mother unexpectedly passed away when Beca was in her mid-teens, leaving Beca with only her Bubbe.

The redhead felt the need to prod her girlfriend a bit. “Talk to me, Becs. I know something’s on your mind.” 

After taking a deep breath, Beca spoke. “Bubbe passed away last August. Before you say anything, she was in her eighties and ready to go. But…” Beca stared off into space again. “She was the only family I had left. My dad took off when I was young. Mom and I moved here when I was fourteen, and Bubbe joined us. Now they are all gone. I mean, Mrs. Goldmann treats me like her kid, but it’s not the same.”

Chloe ran her hand up and down Beca’s arm and gently kissed her on the cheek. “I know how important family is to you. I can see it in your eyes when you talk about your Bubbe. And you are always supporting your community at the center. The kids there adore you.”

“Bubbe used to put this up every year in her backyard. I’d come over for dinner every day.” She gave a tremendous sigh. “I miss them, Chloe. This rug, Bubbe brought over from Israel when she was a teen herself.”

“Sturdy.” Chloe rubbed the material between her fingers. “Well, you do what you need to do. If you want me to sleep out here with you, I will. Meantime, I’m going to go in and decide how we are going to decorate this hut up tomorrow!” She looked up. “Hey, why didn’t you put a roof on this?”

Beca chuckled. “The roof is traditionally made from natural material such as plant matter. I put the bamboo mat up there, but it looked like it would keep falling through the poles.” She pointed upwards. “As long as I can see the sky, it’s all good. I’ll text Stacie and see if her trees can use a trimming. She’ll bring the branches over here so I can use those to give us more shade.”

* * *

Saturday morning, Stacie showed up with a box of fresh bakery pastries. “Are we all going to fit in there?” Stacie was doubtful but knew Beca wouldn’t share in enjoying the breakfast unless she was in the sukkah.

“Got your branches strapped onto the roof of my car. So, bud. It’s the Week of Feasts. We didn’t go through this last year, so what’s on the menu this time.” She stuffed the last of her donut into her mouth. “Gawd, I love your traditions,” she mumbled through the food.

“Hate to disappoint you, Stace,” Beca grinned at her best friend. “About the only food unique to Sukkot is kerplach, little dumplings. Lots of ways to make them. Bubbe always made them triangular like hamantashen. Also, we can have a harvest related meal which honors the holiday – seasonal veggies and fruit. Then any traditional Jewish food like challah bread, kugels, and matzo ball soup.”

“Oh, and I dropped by the community center as you asked. I loaded up on tons of Legos. They were right where you said they were.”

* * *

Chloe headed off to some stores to get some items she needed to decorate Beca’s sukkah walls. Stacie stayed to help Beca with the roof. “You okay, bud? You seem out there today.” Stacie handed Beca a rather large branch to lay across the bamboo support rods.

“Mmm, sorry. I’m just missing Bubbe and mom, I guess. Bubbe’s only been gone a little over a year. I … don’t have any family left. It’s just me.”

“What am I,” Stacie asked. “Chopped liver? You have me, Becs, and you have Chloe. She loves the hell out of you. We’re your family, too. And all the ladies at the center. People who love you surround you.”

“Thanks.” Beca gave a non-committed hum. “I just have a lot of thinking to do, bud.”

* * *

When Chloe got back, she found Stacie and Beca sitting on the couch, laughing up the storm. And then she saw the beer bottles. “You guys get the sukkah finished?” The redhead kissed her girlfriend. “I see you’ve been having a little extra fun.”

“It’s DONE. All of them,” Beca announced. “Want a beer?” 

“No, thanks,” Chloe chuckled. “I like that you are in a better mood.”

“Ahhhh, I just had to get into the right mindset. Sukkot is a joyous holiday. A time for all Jews to celebrate!” Beca smirked as she waved her beer bottle in the air.

Stacie gave a hiccup. “What’d you call it? Z'man Simchateinu? Damn, why does Hebrew have to be so hard to speak?”

“Close enough, Stacie. The Season of Our Rejoicing - celebrating God's role in our lives and rejoicing in the good fortune of the past year. I’ve had a lot of that this year, good fortune. Most of 2020 may suck with the pandemic, but 2019 brought me you, Chloe. I have Stacie and G-Major, and the playoffs brought me Bea-Minor.”

Stacie jokingly sniffed and wiped a fake tear from her eye. “Aww, you are making me cry.”

Chloe plopped on Beca’s lap. “I’m the lucky one, Becs. I found you. And you, too, Stacie. It’s definitely been an intense year.”

“So yeah, I decided to stop having a pity party with myself. The week should be a happy time spent with family and friends. I’m letting go of all negativity and will be upbeat and positive the rest of the week.”

Chloe got up to check on the guinea pigs. “WHAT is this?” She burst out laughing. She kneeled and checked out the Legos around their cage. “You guys did this?”

Stacie stumbled to her feet and walked over to where Chloe stood. “Hey, easy there, tiger. Major and Bea needed a sukkah, too. A place to eat and sleep and pray. So we built one around them, three walls so you can still see in, and an open top.” 

* * *

Beca observed Sukkot in a fairly traditional manner. She took all her meals into the sukkah and slept there as well. Chloe loaded the sukkah up with as many comforts as she could - a thick, fluffy down comforter on which Beca could sleep and lots of pillows. She slept a few nights in the hut with Beca, but sometimes her girlfriend seemed like she wanted to be alone. Chloe wasn’t sure exactly what was going on with the tiny producer, but she trusted Beca and that if she wanted to talk, she would.

By day, Beca worked on jobs sent to her by her studio. At night, she spent her time in her sukkot with her thoughts. Her music helped that, too. Sometimes Chloe would join her and sing and dance in the limited space they had inside the structure.

One particular evening, after an incredibly long night of celebration between the couple. Beca fell on the pallet that Chloe had made for her, pulling Chloe down on top. 

“You know, when my mom was still alive, I think sukkot was my favorite holiday. We used to build our sukkah at Bubbe’s house. I would dream of carrying on the tradition with my own children someday. We’d head to a pumpkin patch to pick fresh produce and then go to an apple orchard to pluck apples right off the trees. We’d have a proper harvest meal.”

Chloe rolled off Beca to one side. “Do you still want kids?” She drew circles on Beca’s stomach before reaching up and tracing her jawline.

Her girlfriend gave a soft smile. “I’m not opposed to the idea. You?”

“I think you’d be great with kids. I watch you at the community center.”

“Yeah, but do _you_ want kids?”

“What do you think?

* * *

As the Festival week drew to a close, Beca had made up her mind. In a more youthful time, Beca knew the direction she wanted for her life many years ago. She had always known the end goal, and now she knew the path to get there. After she finished her work on Friday, Beca went shopping. She made several small purchases and one large one. When she returned home, she got busy getting ready.

Chloe finished yet another week of work and couldn’t wait to get home to her girlfriend. Saturday would be spent disassembling the sukkah. She would always support Beca, especially in terms of her religion. Still, she hoped that Beca would start to return to her cheerful self after the week was over.

“Beca! I’m home.” Chloe tossed her keys on the bowl on top of Beca’s. Hearing nothing, Chloe presumed her girlfriend was in the sukkah despite not being mealtime or night. She looked out to the patio and saw a flickering light bleeding from around the bottom of the hut walls.

The redhead slowly crept towards the sliding glass door and quietly stood in front of the linen drapery covering the doorway to the sukkah. Calm music was softly playing. “Beca?” Chloe forced her voice to stay quiet like the sounds coming from the structure. When her girlfriend didn’t respond, Chloe eased the curtain open. 

Small tea-light candles were covering every bit of the structure. Beca was standing in the middle of the sukkah with a soft smile on her face. “Hi, Chlo.”

“Becs, what is all this?”

“It’s for you.” She was quiet for a moment, then continued. “Remember the other day when I told you about how I felt Sukkot was my favorite holiday? Do you know why?” Chloe shook her head. Family. The Feast is about celebrating family and the ones you love.”

“I love you, Beca. You know that, right?”

“Yes, I do. And I love you. I’ve done a lot of thinking this week, sorting out my life and making sure I’m on the right path - whatever that path may be.” Chloe was afraid to speak. She wasn’t sure where Beca was headed with this conversation but interrupting her wouldn’t help her find out any sooner.

“I lost the last of my blood family last year. Stacie helped me see that I have her and you and all of the community at the center. But I need more. I need my own family.”

Chloe's lip began to quiver. Was this Beca’s way of ending things with her? Was Beca moving on? She closed her eyes to fight the tears that were welling up.

She felt movement in front of her. When she opened her eyes, Beca was on one knee in front of her. “Chloe Beale, I want you to be my family. I want us to be a family. Would you do the honor of becoming my wife? My family? Chloe, would you marry me?” She opened a black velvet box to reveal a sparkling engagement ring.

Chloe squealed as she clapped her hands over her mouth and dropped to her knees and grabbed Beca’s hand holding the box. “Yes, Beca. Yes! A thousand times, yes.” Beca pulled the box ^from her now-fiancee’s grasp and slipped the ring on her finger. 

The newly engaged couple stood together and wrapped their arms around each other. Beca placed her hands on either side of Chloe’s face. “And soon, we’ll start our own family, with our own traditions.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to my Jewish friends for their continued inspiration.


End file.
